Pediatr Nephrol (2006) 21: 1334 DOI 10.1007/s00467-006-0191-6
O B I T U A RY
Jean-Pierre Guignard . André Spahr . René Tabin
Emile Gautier (1923–2006)
Published online: 19 July 2006
# IPNA 2006
Professor Emile Gautier started his medical training in 1941 in Geneva. He was then introduced to basic research as a postgraduate student at the Institute of Physiology in Bern. Here he developed his approach to science, the rigor and the exactitude of which followed him throughout his academic career. In Zurich, under the guidance of Guido Fanconi, he became interested in the pathophysiology of the kidney. Under Conrad Gasser he investigated the renal insufficiency presented by some children suffering from acute hemolytic disease. They observed and described the evolution of the disease in five young patients suffering from what became known as the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). These observations published in 1955 are still referred to today (Gasser C, Gautier E et al. Hemolytic-uremic syndrome: bilateral necrosis of the renal cortex in acute acquired hemolytic anemia. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 85:905–909).
During the 27 years he spent at Lausanne University as head of the Department of Pediatrics, he trained more than 250 residents, 146 of whom became pediatricians. Dy-namic and inquisitive, he forged the outlook of his interns in their rigorous scientific and humanitarian approach towards the sick child.
Emile Gautier was a member of the Research Council of the Swiss Science Foundation and Vice-Rector of the University of Lausanne. Internationally, he served as an expert for WHO. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a founding member of two European Societies: the European Society for Pediatric Research (ESPR) and the European Society for Pediatric Nephrology (ESPN). As President of the ESPR, Emile Gautier chaired the first joint meeting of the
ESPR-ESPN in Lausanne in 1974. Deeply concerned that pediatrics might suffer from the subdivision and separation of the pediatric specialities, he always sought to maintain continuous communication between them.
As a first-rate clinician, Emile Gautier’s approach to young patients demonstrated the essential need for detailed clinical observation combined with constantly updated scientific knowledge in their treatment. Abroad, he was respected and appreciated by his peers for his scientific curiosity, his enthusiasm, and his modesty.
Emile Gautier died in Colombier-sur-Morges on 6 March 2006 surrounded by his family, his wife Rosemary, and his six children. We send them our sympathy in memory of a good friend, a great leader, and guide to many.
J.-P. Guignard (*)
Lausanne University Medical School, Lausanne, Switzerland
e-mail: Jean-Pierre.Guignard@chuv.ch
A. Spahr . R. Tabin Hôpital de Sion, Sion, Switzerland
